My Peridot
by leakking29
Summary: Lapis and Peridot didn't always get along, but lately a shift in the seasons has found them closer together than ever. It's hard for gems to adjust to life on Earth, but they'll find a way and they'll do it together. Will a beautiful blossoming romance be enough to save the Earth or will all their efforts die in vain?
1. Prologue

Prologue

It was a calm and beautiful Sunday morning. The sun slowly glided over the horizon letting its bright colors gracefully fade over the farm. A gentle breeze settled over the field. The individual blades of grass softly swayed in the low breeze while a humble redwood barn stood enduring the low winds that gently blew by.

Suddenly, one of the doors creaked open. Out of the door came a short being that walked outside the barn and sat in front of a pool that was a few feet away from the barn entrance. She gazed into the deep still reflection of the water. She peered into her lime green eyes that complimented her lime green skin. A sudden ripple in the water directed her attention to her yellow green hair that was styled above her head in corners. Her hair was styled into two corners that came off the side of her head and one that poked out on top of her head.

She looked down into her hands. She was firmly grasping a rectangular recorder. She stared intently at it before hitting the red button on the side. She cleared her throat.

She spoke gently. " This is Peridot Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG. It's been roughly a year since I have befriended the crystal gems. Yes, roughly one year since I became a traitorous CLOD to the homeworld of the gems, where I was created. Roughly One year since I called yellow diamond a clod to her face."

Peridot sighed before continuing. "It's been awhile since I have recorded an update and a lot has happened since the Steven gave me my first recording box of sounds. My first recorder was rudely destroyed by my roommate Lapis Lazuli but that's a thing of the past. Ever Since my strange encounter with the alien red eye ship from Homeworld, I have been close friends with Lapis and the crystal clo..-er.. Um crystal gems. I keep forgetting that I am a crystal gem now so by calling them clods I am also foolishly calling myself a clod."

Peridot giggled to herself before quickly standing up and continuing. "And I can surely assure you that the great and lovable Peridot is no clod. Yes I may slip up sometimes but if it weren't for my scientific genius in robotics this earth would be nothing other than a giant raging cluster. Impressive I know but not everyone can see it the way we see it. The one they call Garnet informed us two weeks ago that Homeworld is likely to wage a war with us on the grounds of us, the crystal gems, stopping their numerous attempts to destroy the earth. A year ago the Steven allowed me to take refuge in this barn ,and since then I have greatly enhanced the barn into a suitable dwelling, with the help of Lapis of course. Together we have transformed the simple big red barn into a crystal gem mechanical workshop. Of course most of the work goes toward helping the other crystal clods and improving the state of the planet, but that's only because I am already nearly perfect. Meh heh heh, anyway the Steven has invited me and Lapis to the crystal gems' temple to partake in something they call training. It will probably be a waste of my precious time but I politely accepted. I must admit that even I am curious to see what will happen Whe-"

Peridot stopped her monologue at the sound of the barn door opening up even wider. A soft voice filled the air.

"...Peridot?" The voiced asked. Peridot turned to see Lapis standing at the barn doorway. She stood at the doorway and stared Peridot down with her sky blue eyes. She was also a gem from Homeworld just like like Peridot. Lapis was sky blue, just like her eyes and she wore a navy blue crop top with the back out and a navy blue knee length skirt.

"Are you talking to yourself again?" Lapis asked dryly while walking over to peridot, who was now watching the sun come up.

"I wasn't talking to myself." Peridot corrected. "I was setting data on record."

"And why do you need to do that again?" Lapis asked sitting beside Peridot, who was still gazing at the sunrise.

"I-It helps pass the time.." Peridot answered honestly.

"Couldn't you just sleep?" Lapis asked gently laying on her back and crossing her legs.

"I do but gems don't really need to sleep." Peridot replied.

"I find it relaxing." Lapis said staring up into the clouds

"Of course you do." Peridot said sarcastically sitting next to Lapis.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lapis said picking up on some of the shade Peridot was throwing.

"Oh nothing." peridot said laying beside Lapis on the soft grass.

"That's what I thought shorty." Lapis said playfully with a grin.

"Oh hush up you clod!" Peridot said slightly annoyed. They sat up and stared at the sun, which had already rose during their conversation. Peridot sighed and nestled her head under Lapis' chin.

"Are you ok?" Lapis asked gently wrapping her arms around Peridot.

"Meh, I just feel like today is gonna be slightly more difficult than the preceding days." Peridot said still nestled into Lapis' chest.

"Yeah I can relate." Lapis answered. "Are we still going to the temple to train?"

Peridot groaned. "Uhhh I guess we can pay those clods a visit." She averted her eyes away from Lapis.

"Ooh I see what's going on here." Lapis said putting on a cheeky smile. Peridot blushed a bit.

"W-what are you talking about!?" Peridot questioned nervously. "What's going on?"

"You're afraid your abilities won't hold a candle up to the abilities of the crystal clods who are constantly training." Lapis answered impersonating Peridot.

"I AM NOT!" Peridot said leaping onto her feet. "Those clods don't stand a chance against the great and lovable Peridot!" Lapis smiled standing up with her.

"Don't worry I'll practice with you before we go." Lapis said giving peridot a small kiss on the cheek before returning to the barn and softly closing the door behind her. Peridot stood in front of the pool blushing a hot red while staring at the ground. Peridot walked back to the barn and close the door behind her. She sat next to Lapis, who was watching the latest episode of "Lonely Blade". Neither of them cared for the show at first, but after Steven showed it to them, they quickly became addicted.

After the episode ended, Peridot and Lapis walked outside the barn and stood 5 feet across from each other. Peridot and Lapis looked directly at each other. There was an intense awkward silence.

"So….what now?" Peridot asked.

"I dunno." Lapis answered with a shrug. "Maybe you can lift something with your metal powers."

"LIKE THE BARN." Peridot yelled excitedly.

"No no I meant like the…" Lapis began before Peridot started grunted in an attempt to lift the barn. Peridot lifted her hands up at the barn and continued to grunt and mumble under her breath.

After a while of Peridot's struggling, Lapis spoke up.

"Peridot maybe you should try something else." Peridot let out a heavy exhale in disappointment.

"Like what?" She asked letting her arms fall to her sides.

"I dunno…" Lapis answered. "The tractor?" Peridot turned to the tractor and laughed. She raised her hands up and began to concentrate once again. She gritted her teeth in annoyance. Sweat rolled down her face and fell down to the soft brown soil.

"FUCKING MOVE ALREADY!" Peridot shouted fiercely. The tractor then turned over on its side. Peridot's arms fell to her sides and she panted heavily. Lapis looked confusedly at the overturned tractor and then looked at Peridot who was still panting heavily.

"Ummm what does fuck mean?" Lapis asked Peridot.

"Ehh I don't know." Peridot said finally catching her breath. "I heard Amethyst say it a while back when the pearl cleaned up her room."

"But what does it mean?" Lapis asked walking over to the overturned tractor.

"Who knows I'll ask the goodle later." Peridot said walking over to the lake.

"You mean google?" Lapis corrected.

"Whatever." Peridot said in annoyance. She sat down and brought her knees up to her chest. She let out another exasperated sigh. Lapis gently placed an arm around Peridot's small shoulders.

"Don't worry shorty." Lapis comforted. "Everything will be just fine. Nothing can be greater than the great Peridot right?" Lapis' tone was playful but Peridot began to slouch.

"You know what Lapis? I don't think I'm so great." Peridot said honestly. "I mean I call myself great all the time, but I don't really mean it. I've had my powers for months ,but I'm not flying around or anything. As a matter fact, it took everything I had just to push the stupid tractor over!"

"Aww Peri you've got it al-" Lapis started but Peridot cut her off.

"And now we're going to go train with the rest of the crystal gems, who do nothing but train! Lapis, I don't think I'm gonna be a match for them. I know I won't be! I-I just feel like I'm a useless waste of space without my limb enhancers."

Lapis looked down at Peridot who was wiping her eyes and sniffing. She began to giggle.

"You know what Peridot?" Lapis asked laying down on her back beside Peridot.

"What's that?" Peridot asked unenthusiastically.

"I NEVER thought I'd get to say this but you're wrong." Lapis giggled.

"I don't see what's so funny about me being wrong." Peridot said, crossing her arms tightly.

"You're Dead wrong." Lapis continued. "Peridot, it doesn't matter if you're not as strong as the other crystal gems. If anything, you've proven that you don't need "strength" to make a difference. Look at what you've done to the barn. You saved the earth! And thanks to you and Steven, I finally see the earth for what it is. I can't express how grateful I am to you."

Peridot laid down beside Lapis. She smiled lightly with a blush.

"Thanks Lapis." Peridot said softly snuggling extra close to Lapis.

"Don't worry about it." Lapis said. "Its training so we can all improve. If anyone says anything different they can answer to me." Lapis lightly punched her fist into her palm in an attempt to look tough but it ultimately just made them both laugh.

"We should probably get going." Peridot said sitting up,

"Alright, all aboard." Lapis said standing up and kneeling beside peridot. Her gem glowed brightly before two water wings sprouted out at the same time. She wiggle her butt to show peridot she was ready but Peridot cracked a cheeky smirk.

"Sorry Lapis, but we aren't gonna need your water wings today." Peridot said confidently.

"What?" Lapis asked retracting her wings and turning to face Peridot. "How else are we gonna get to the temple? We gonna walk?"

"No no we're not gonna walk!" Peridot exclaimed. "We're gonna warp Lapis!" Peridot ran excitedly back to the barn. She went in and left the doors wide open. Lapis heard her rustling around in the barn before she came back out with shiny chrome remote she hadn't seen before.

"A while back the crystal gems let me in on the remains of our old ship. Heheheh, it took me a while but I was able to find the basic components of a warp pad and link it to the warp pad at the temple I've made some minor adjustments since then and this baby can take us all the way to beach city in the blink of an eye."

Peridot said excitedly before pushing the big red button in the center of the remote. Just in front of the barn, the soft dirt found itself pushed to aside as a lime green pad rose from the ground.

"Are you ready?" Peridot asked Lapis before hopping on to the warp pad.

"I guess I am." Lapis said before stepping on.

"Alright." Peridot said with a huge grin. "Let's wa-.. Wait just a second." Peridot hopped off of the pad, ran inside the barn and set her remote down on top if the television. Then she ran over to the kitchen table and got her "cool gem" shades before running back outside to the warp pad. She hopped back on top of the warp and put her shades one.

"Ok..Let's Warp!" Peridot said enthusiastically. The pad began a low hum before a bright lime green light encased Lapis and Peridot before shooting across the sky.


	2. Training Day

Chapter 1

Training day

The lime green ray of light landed Peridot and Lapis at the warp pad in pearl's floating ruined coliseum. Pearl used the ruins to train Connie and Steven but lately all of the crystal gems have been training in the ruins on Sundays. The warp pad was located at the front of the ruins. There was a staircase followed by an old corridor that led into the sparring area. There was fighting noises and battle cries coming from the arena.

"Here we are…" Peridot said with a nervous chuckle. She was a bit wobbly getting off the warp pad. This was mainly because the warp beam was spinning the entire time. Peridot took a few steps off of the pad before turning to check on Lapis who was a mess after the warp.

"W-was that supposed to happen?" She asked almost falling to the ground.

"Heh heh so the warp pad definitely has some kinks I need to work out." Peridot answered, rubbing the back of her head. " I'll worry about it later. C'mon I think they already started" Peridot made their way in the arena. There was a thick gloomy fog that spread outward for the center of the arena.

Peridot and Lapis figured it would be better and wait on the sidelines that to jump into the fray, so that's what they did. In the smoke, Peridot and Lapis could hear the clashing of swords and swift footsteps. Lapis and Peridot sat on an old half pillar to observe. The noises from the Smoke intensified and out of smoke, Connie was blasted into the air. She regained her composure mid air and managed to gracefully flip to the ground and land safely. Her stance was firm she stood facing the smoke. In both hands, she wielded Rose's pink sword, holding it defensively against any incoming attacks. Connie was wearing her usually purple training garb complete with a read belt.

"Whoa! Lapis did you see that!?" Peridot asked wide eyed.

"Yeah." Lapis responded enthusiastically. "She's got flips." Peridot and Lapis had met Connie before, but definitely not like this. When Steven and the other crystal gems went to outer space, they left Connie, Peridot, and Lapis to watch over beach city. It had been a while since they'd seen Connie but they both were very surprised to see her in action like this. Suddenly, Amethyst zoomed out of the smoke. She was in the middle of her spin dash attack so all Peridot and Lapis could see was a white blur zooming towards Connie. In an instant, Connie planted her feet firmly on the ground, gripped her sword in her right hand, place her left hand on the dull side of the sword, and faced Amethyst. Amethyst collided with the sword full speed creating sparks that flew off in every direction. Connie struggled to hold up against the attack. Sweat rolled down her forehead as dash started to push her whole stance back.

"I-intense.." Peridot said admiring Connie's struggle. "I've never heard of an organic giving a gem a decent fight." Lapis nodded now fully invested in the fight. Connie grunted, determined not to give in to the attack. She took a deep breath in before pushing back against Amethyst with everything she had.

"Ahh!...G-Get…..Back!" Connie shouted before pushing Amethyst out of her spin dash and knocking her several feet across the arena. Connie stood across from Amethyst, who was getting up rather quickly and preparing for another attack. Connie was exhausted. That little power struggle with Amethyst took a lot out of her, and while she was huffing and puffing Amethyst was ready to roll. Connie gripped her sword and winced from the pain. Her hands were bruised to say the least and her joints were already aching. They had only been group sparring for five minutes and here she was out of breath and energy. Connie fell to a knee. She stabbed her sword in the ground to support herself. She stared at the ground as sweat dripped down from her chin. The clinking of swords could still be heard in the fog. Connie glanced over to the fog and realized that Steven is still in there fighting hard to become stronger. She realized that she had to become stronger to if she wanted to protect him. This drove her back to her feet. She turned to Amethyst.

"Done Dreamin' about Stevie-poo?" Amethyst said in a mocking tone. "Good!" Amethyst's gem glowed, as she pulled out one of her whips and slung it at Connie. Connie raised the sword in defense, but the whip tightly wrapped itself around it. Amethyst grinned. She slung the whip to the left, which slung Connie into a nearby pillar. Connie landed on her stomach and hit the ground with a thud. She struggled onto her hands and knees and began to cough up some blood.

"You're still conscious!?" Amethyst hollered. "C'mon kid I'm not trying to kill ya" Connie took a minute to stand back up and at this point she was super wobbly.

"Kill me?" Connie asked. "Oh please, your attacks tickle like butterflies!" Connie's insult took Amethyst by surprise, but she smiled before responding.

" Oh yeah? Well this next one's gonna sting ya like a bee!" Amethyst said before swing her arm down and sending a purple electric current jolting through the whip. The electric current traveled down to the end of the whip, which was still wrapped tightly around Connie's sword. The purple electricity ravaged Connie's body and she screamed out in pain. She refused to let go of the sword but the pain intensified.

"I…. can't…. Quit!" Connie thought to herself falling to knee. "I have to be strong for the earth, for everyone, FOR STEVEN!" Connie struggle to her feet once again. The purple electricity was still stinging every fiber in her being.

"For S-Steven." Connie whispered to herself.

"What wassat?" Amethyst asked channeling even more electricity into her whip. Connie gritted her teeth to withstand the pain. She gripped the sword with both hands and turned away from Amethyst.

"FOR STEVEN!" Connie screamed swinging her sword down to the ground. This maneuver caught Amethyst completely off guard and it sent her flying toward Connie full speed. The second Amethyst was about a foot away, Connie turned around and stabbed the sword into Amethyst's gut. Amethyst's expression was filled with pain and shock. Connie held her up on the sword, breathing heavily.

"G-gotcha" Connie managed to say proudly in between gasps. A moment passed before Amethyst poofed and returned to her gem. Peridot and Lapis stood by the pillar paralyzed in amazement.

"Oh my stars!" Peridot exclaimed, stuffing her hands into her hair frantically.

"Hardcore." Lapis said as Amethyst's gem hit the floor. Connie fell back to a knee, once again using her sword as support in the ground.

"Heheh..I did it!" Connie said to herself with a laugh. "Don't worry Steven I won't give up."

"Taking a break already?" A voice inquired from the fog. "I could've sworn I taught you to be on guard until the fight is over." Lapis looked into the fog.

"That voice sounds familiar." She said trying to put a name to the voice.

"It's Pearl." Peridot said squinting her eyes negatively. Out of everyone, Pearl could definitely push Peridot's buttons the best. They weren't enemies anymore, but there was definitely still some tension between the two. If anything, they were more like rivals. Mostly because Pearl was the only one who could challenge Peridot in her own field. That and the fact the Peridot considered herself above Pearl while she was still getting used to earth.

Peridot and Lapis stared at the fog and the seemingly defeated Connie. Suddenly, Pearl's spear flew out of the fog. Connie's eyes widened. Every movement she made sent waves of pain through her body. Regardless, Connie yanked her sword out of the ground just in time to deflect the spear that was aimed at her head. While deflecting the spear saved Connie from being stabbed, it knocked Connie's sword several feet away from her. She ran towards the sword at full speed.

While she ran Pearl came out of the smoke calmly. She pulled another Spear out of her gem on her forehead. She dusted off the gold star on her aqua blue leotard. Her ivory skin shimmered in the sunlight as sweat perspired off of her body. She looked over at Connie as she was about to reached her sword. Pearl smiled. As Connie got to about a foot away from the sword, a Halo Pearl appeared in front of her. The Halo pearl was a product of one of Pearl's techniques. The Halo Pearl looked almost exactly like Pearl with the exception of the Halo Pearl's bright red eyes, lighter color palette, and robotic voice.

"Whoa could she do that before?" Lapis asked quite impressed.

"Oh I don't know Lapis. Why don't you ask Pearl?" Peridot responded with jealousy.

"PREPARE FOR BATTLE" The Halo Pearl stated holding her sword in front of her and pointed it at Connie.

"Oh great!" Connie said squatting defensively. The Halo Pearl swung its sword vertically. Connie reacted by rolling to the right side of the Halo Pearl. Then, Connie ducked to avoid the Halo Pearl's follow up horizontal slice. After that, Connie got behind the Halo Pearl by nimbly rolling underneath her legs. Connie snatched her sword off of the ground and horizontally cut through the Hollow Pearl at the waist.

After the Halo Pearl disappeared Connie was left with the real Pearl and the ominous fog behind. She stood up slowly bearing all of the fatigue her body had already put on.

"Very well done Connie." Pearl said clapping. "I'm very proud of you Connie. I know it's difficult for a human to fight for extended periods of time without a break. Look at you though. It's amazing that you can still stand let alone fight." Connie frowned.

"With all do respect mam. The fight's not over and we can talk later." Connie got down into her sword fighting stance. Her legs wobbled but she stood as firmly as she could.

"Yes of course." Pearl said preparing herself to fight. "You did well to handle my Halo pearl in your condition, but let's see you handle this!" Pearl aimed the end of her spear at Connie and fired a super fast energy shot. Connie lifted her sword in an attempt to block the attack, but the energy blast exploded in front of her. She ducked to shield herself from the debris and smoke. When she looked up in front of her she saw Steven standing in front of her. He had summoned his rose pink shield around his forearm and and shielded him and Connie from Pearls attack. Connie's eyes lit up.

"Steven!" She shouted hugging him tightly. "Thank goodness you showed up."

"I told you Connie." Steven said with a smile. "We're in this together!"

"Is that Steven?" Peridot asked squinting over at Steven and Connie. "Oh there's no mistaking it! I'd know that red shirt and blue jean combination anywhere."

"HEY STEVEN!" Peridot and Lapis called out in unison. Steven turned to Peridot and Lapis with a smile.

"Hey guys! What took you so long to show up?" Steven asked across the arena.

"We had some technical difficulties." Peridot yelled back.

"Oh really?" Steven asked. "what happened?"

"Keep your attention on the fight!" Pearl shouted before launching her Spear at Steven.

"Steven lookout!" Connie yelled. Steven's gem began to glow in response to pearls attack. Steven surrounded himself and Connie in a pink energy bubble. Connie's aches finally caught up to her and she collapsed inside of the bubble.

"Connie!" Steven exclaimed kneeling down to her. He got on his knees and leaned Connie over his lap. He supported her with his arms. "Are you okay Connie?" Connie smiled at Steven. At this point is was pretty obvious that she wasn't ok, but she still found Stevens concern sweet.

"I've got to admit. I've had better days." Connie said managing to be modest about her pain.

"Don't worry." Steven said, wiping the blood out from under her lip. "I'll heal you." Steven leaned down closer to Connie before kissing her gently. Connie lifted her hand up to Steven's cheek and caressed it softly while enjoying Steven's lips. After a moment, Steven's embrace began to gradually lift the fatigue off of Connie's body. Her bruises disappeared, her scratches faded, and the feeling of Amethyst's electricity attack was nothing more than memory.

Steven and Connie's lips parted.

"Is that better?" Steven asked standing up.

"Much better." Connie answered with a smile. Steven dropped the bubble and an impatient Pearl ruined the mood.

"I hope you two are done smooching!" She said. "This is a fight after all." On the sidelines there was a very awkward silence between Lapis and Peridot.

"Umm go Steven?" Peridot asked. "I think he won the tongue war."

"Must be nice." Lapis said diverting her eyes away from Peridot who was still uncomfortable with kissing after living on Earth for over a year.

"Yea! We're done I hope your ready Pearl!" Steven said in response to Pearl.

"Wait Steven." Connie interrupted. "What about Garnet?"

"What about Garnet?" Steven asked.

"Well how did you deal with Garnet." Connie asked raising an eyebrow.

"Pillars" Steven answered nervously.

"Pillars?" Connie asked skeptically.

"Yeh Pillars." Steven answered with a nervous laugh.

"You beat Garnet with pillars?" Connie asked. "I'm pretty sure she could bench press a skyscraper, so how did you beat Garnet with some old ancient pillars?"

"Ok ok." Steven said giving in to Connie's questions. "Maybe "Beat" is the wrong word. Look let's just focus on Pearl for now and then worry about Garnet." Connie nodded and the two turned and faced Pearl.

"Ug, Finally." Pearl said spinning her spear into a fighting position. "Seriously, Steven you can't expect Homeworld gems to wait idly by while you and Connie cuddle inside of a bubble." Pearl was blushing. She secretly adored their relationship and thought it was one of the cutest things on the Earth. However, it was vital that they took the training seriously.

"They aren't gonna have a choice if they can't break through it." Steven said confidently turning to Connie. "You ready." Connie nodded and the two bolted towards Pearl. Steven ran towards Pearls right side and Connie ran towards Pearls left. Pearl leaned back and began to fire energy shots at both of them. Steven and Connie manage to dodge the energy attacks skillfully by ducking and dodging. Steven jumped high into the air and began to float. Pearl aimed her spear up at Steven and began to shoot. The energy blasts cut through the air at high speeds. Steven, seeing the oncoming attack, surrounded himself in another pink bubble. The energy shots bounced off of the bubble and into different areas of the arena. The last shot flew back at Pearl who hit a combat roll to evade it. She let out a sigh. She didn't expect Steven to combine his floating ability with his bubble power, but why would he?

Pearl sense someone behind her and ducked, avoiding Connie's horizontal sword slash. Pearl hit several back flips away from Connie and put herself in a defensive fighting stance. She understood now. Steven flew into the air as a distraction. He knew pearl would attack him first because of his lack of control, but while she attacking Steven, it gave Connie the element of surprise. Pearl smiled. They were finally using their heads like real gem warriors.

Connie lunged forward swinging her sword expertly in an attempt to poof Pearl. Pearl backed up and fought defensively. She angled her spear several different times to shield herself from Connie's attacks. Pearl leaped back several feet away from Connie to plan her next move. She aimed her spear at Connie and started to shoot, but she was knocked to the ground forcefully by Steven who flew down from the air and kicked Pearl in the back of the head.

Steven's attack sent Pearl tumbling across the arena. Steven landed with the sound of his red flip-flops clapping against the ground. Peridot laughed at the seemingly defeated Pearl.

"Oh common Pearl!" Peridot laughed. "You've been defending this planet for centuries but you can't handle a couple of kids?"

Pearl grumbled something mean under her breath before struggling to her feet.

"Really, it's a good thing that i'm struggling." Pearl said brushing herself off. "The stronger they are now, the easier the fight against Homeworld is going to be. However I'm not ready to poof just yet." Pearl stood still facing Connie and Steven. It was about time she went on the offensive. Pearl took off towards Connie and Steven. She ran with her spear in her left hand and with the tip behind her. She was fast. Her body cut through the air and in an instant she was in front of Connie.

She jabbed her spear forward. Steven got in front of Connie and blocked Pearl's spear with his shield. Steven swung his shield upward opening Pearl up for a kick that sent her on her back. That second, Connie jumped off of Steven's head stabbed the directly into Pearls gut. She poofed, leaving Connie and Steven standing there above her gem.

"Looks like that's it for Pearl." Connie said somewhat somberly. "Or at least for now." After Pearl was poofed The fog was lifted from the arena revealing Garnet who stood in the center of the arena with her arms crossed.

"Yeh I thought as much." Connie said nudging Steven and motioning to Garnet. "There's no way you beat Garnet with some old pillars." Steven looked over at Garnet and face palmed.

"Errr ! Garnet what are you doing!? this is supposed to be a real life battle simulation!" Steven asked slightly frustrated.

"Sorry Steven." Garnet said walking towards Steven and Connie. "I knew you didn't have anything in your arsenal that could challenge me, but if you two form Stevonnie that would probably be a different story."

"You want us to fuse?" Connie asked looking at Steven with a blush.

"Well if that's what it takes." Steven said turning to Connie with a smile.

"W-Wait they're going to fuse?" Peridot asked turning to Lapis who just shrugged nonchalantly. Steven pulled Connie into a hug. During their embrace, Steven's gem lit up brightly and both of their figures glowed brightly before merging together. When the light finally dimmed, Stevonnie stood there holding Connie's sword facing Garnet.

"Oh wow." Stevonnie said realizing her existence. "Hey Garnet! Long time no see."

"Stevonnie." Garnet said acknowledging her. Garnet summoned her gauntlets and squatted down into her fighting stance.

"Oh right!" Stevonnie said, remembering that she came to fight. She summoned Steven's shield and nodded at Garnet to show that she was ready. Garnet nodded back before leaping forward. Stevonnie's eyes widened. Garnet was way faster and stronger than Pearl. She was going to have to be careful. She leaped backwards up onto a pillar that was behind her avoiding Garnets fist. Garnet wasted no time leaping up next to the top of the pillar. She punched the top of the creating a small smoke cloud. Stevonnie had Leaped off of the tip of the pillar before Garnets attack landed. Stevonnie used the smoke as a cover. She flew into the smoke wrapping her arms around Garnet in the process. She took them both towards the ground at high speeds. Just before impact, Stevonnie threw Garnet into the floor creating a huge crater and stopped her momentum letting herself land safely behind the crater she had made with Garnets body. After the smoke cleared, Garnet stood up in the crater and cracked her neck.

"Not bad Stevonnie." She said cracking the other side of her neck.

"Thanks" Stevonnie replied summoning Stevens shield in her left hand. Her grip on her sword tightened. The two leaped at each other. Stevonnie thrusted her sword forward in an attempt to poof Garnet, but Garnet flipped over the sword, grabbed the back of Stevonnie's garb mid-flip, and slung Stevonnie into another old pillar upon landing.

"Wow that was really good." Lapis said to Peridot. "But how did she do that?"

"Well that's a bit hard to explain." Peridot replied. "The perma-fusion Garnet is consisted of a Ruby and Sapphire. As you know Sapphires are rare gems that can see into the future. They were created to assist the diamonds in making good decision for the good of the empire, but Garnet is a crystal gem and has learned to use her future vision in battle as well as in decision making."

"So you're saying she already knows what Stevonnie's gonna do?" Lapis asked slightly worried.

"No not exactly." Peridot answered. "While her future vision powers are a unique advantage, they also have a unique disadvantage."

"Aaand what's that?" Lapis asked.

"She can see into the future." Peridot started. "But sometimes it's not that simple. There are many times where things can happen in many different ways and when this is the case it's a matter of picking the right scenario."

"Ooh ok I understand now but how do you know Peri?" Lapis asked.

"Well, when I decided to help the Crystal gems deal with the cluster, I had a lot of time to get to know the Crystal gems." Peridot answered with a chuckle. "I remember not liking any of them, but I came around."

"I can relate." Lapis said with laugh. Meanwhile Stevonnie was picking herself up out off what used to be a pillar. She looked up to see Garnet Flying at her with super man punch with her name on it. She rolled forward avoiding the attack and stumbled to her feet. She held her shield in front of her ready for garnets next attack. Garnet pointed both of her arms at Stevonnie and smiled.

"Bang." Garnet said, as one of her gauntlets flew off of her wrist. It zipped through the air and found itself up against Stevonnie's shield. Stevonnie struggled to hold her ground against Garnets rocket gauntlet. The force was too great and Stevonnie was sent on her back as the rocket whizzed by her headed towards Peridot and Lapis.

"Uh oh!" Lapis said, grabbing Peridot, sprouting her wings, and flying away. The gauntlet crashed into the ground where Lapis and Peridot were standing and exploded sending debris everywhere.

"Yikes!" Peridot said looking down at the damage from that attack.

"Are you okay Peri?" Lapis asked flapping her wings to keep them above the action.

"Yeah I'm fine. Thanks Lapis." Peridot said looking up at Lapis who had her arms tightly around her waist.

Stevonnie sat up just in time to see Garnets second gauntlet flying at her much like the first gauntlet. In seconds, the gauntlet was an inch away from Stevonnie's face.

"Ohhh shit." Stevonnie said before the gauntlet exploded creating another substantial explosion once again sending debris everywhere.

"Steven!" Lapis called out to no avail.

"Oh my stars" Peridot said softly to herself. She was shook but what she saw. Peridot knew this was a bad idea. She wouldn't last three second in a fight like this one. She clenched her fist. She was so far behind everyone. She wouldn't have even been able to watch the fight if it wasn't for Lapis saving her.

"Darn it." Peridot whispered to herself.

"What's wrong?" Lapis asked noticing Peridot's pouting face.

" Oh it's nothing" Peridot lied. "I just remember I left my visor at the barn."

"But you got your cool gem shades." Lapis said with a smile.

"I know, but I think I like my visor more." Peridot replied. Meanwhile, on the ground, the dust finally cleared revealing Stevonnie inside of a pink bubble with her arms crossed over her face.

"Wooah god that was close." Stevonnie said, happy to see herself still alive. "That could have ended way worse." Stevonnie stood up inside her bubble and looked over at Garnet. Garnet looked back at Stevonnie with a smile. She was impressed. Fusion or not, countering Garnets rocket gauntlet in point blank range was no small feat. Stevonnie sighed. Garnet had her trapped in her own bubble. The second she drops her bubble, Garnet is gonna be all over her with those rockets.

"Those rockets of yours are pretty fast huh?" Stevonnie asked Garnet, setting her sword down at the bottom of the bubble and letting her shield disappear.

"Eh they're alright." Garnet shrugged. "I like to be up close but they get the job done when I can't be."

"Neat." Stevonnie said allowing an awkward silence to creep up on them. "It's a good thing i'm Stevonnie. I don't think Steven would have had enough energy to do this." Stevonnie whispered to herself. She placed both her hands on the wall bubble. She closed her eyes,took in a deep breath, and began to concentrate on something. Suddenly, a pink hand of energy stretched out from the bubble and slithered it's way towards Garnet just above the ground. Stevonnie's gem glowed brightly as the hand picked up speed. In a matter of seconds, the hand was a few feet away from Garnet. With speed, it lunged forward. Garnet swung at the palm of the pink hand of energy, but the hand avoided the blow by opening up around her and forming a bubble similar to the bubble Stevonnie was in.

Garnet inspected the bubble that encased her. It was much like Stevonnie's bubble the only difference being her's was more roomy.

"So what now?" Garnet asked still looking around her slightly cramped bubble. "Are you shielding yourself by shielding me?"

"Not quite" Stevonnie said in between pants. She was expelling a large amount of her magical energy with this technique. She needed to make her move. Stevonnie dropped the bubble around her and focused on the bubble that held Garnet. Sweat rolled down her cheek and dropped to the floor from her chin. Stevonnie lifted her hands into the air. In response, the bubble that held Garnet rose slowly into the air.

"Woah what's she doing?" Lapis asked still flapping her wings.

"I have no idea" Peridot said squinting down at the fight. Stevonnie took a deep breath in and exhaled.

"Here goes nothing!" Stevonnie said to herself. She swung her towards the ground as fast as she could. That moment the bubble that held Garnet was transformed into an inescapable prison that was plummeting to the ground. Bubble crashed into the ground creating a huge crater and plenty of cover smoke. Stevonnie reached down and snatched her sword up from the floor and dashed full speed towards Garnet who was still recovering from the impact. Stevonnie sprinted full speed towards Garnet with her rose pink sword held to her side samurai style. Garnet struggles onto her hands and knees. She looked up through her cracked shades and saw Stevonnie approaching. She struggled to her feet and looked up. One moment Stevonnie was in front of her carrying her sword samurai style and the next moment Stevonnie was behind her sword drawn in front of her. An audible slash was heard afterwards and it was followed by a powerful shock wave. The sound wave pushed Lapis back. She struggled to stay in the air. She grunted trying to endure the fierce winds.

"Woah woah you okay?" Peridot said staring down.

"I should probably take us down huh?" Lapis asked, after shock wave subsided.

"That would be nice." Peridot said, holding on tightly to Lapis' arms. Lapis glided down to the ground and landed.

"Wow thanks." Peridot said Gratefully. "It feels good to have have my gravity connectors connected to something. Well uhh you can let me go now." Peridot said to Lapis who was still holding holding her tightly around the waist from behind.

"Oh right." Lapis said letting Peridot go with a blush. Meanwhile Stevonnie fell to a knee and leaned on her sword for support she struggled to catch her breath. Garnet spoke with her back to Stevonnie.

"Nice work Stevonnie." Garnet said. " I am very proud of you." Garnet poofed and her gems hit the floor with a clink. Stevonnie went back to where pearl and Amethyst were poofed and picked them up. Then she approached Lapis and peridot. She released a bright light and unfused. The light faded and Steven and Connie stood in front of Peridot and Lapis. Connie held her sword in her left and the gems in her right.

"Steven!" They yelled, rushing to Steven. Peridot hugged Steven around the waist and Lapis wrapped her arms around Steven's head and pulled Steven's face in between her breasts.

"Steven that was amazing!" Lapis said letting go of Steven.

"yeh how did you do that?" Peridot asked stepping back to get a better look at Steven.

"I've had a lot of practice." Steven said rubbing the back of his head.

"I'll say." Peridot said, getting a bit nervous. "You were amazing!"

"Yeh" Lapis said, looking down at the gems Connie held in her hand. "Maybe a little too amazing."

"Oh don't worry." Connie said comfortingly. "We've been at this for a while, so I'm sure they'll reform soon."

"Oh that's right!" Steven said excitedly. "You guys showed up late so you missed out on the action."

"Oh darn!" Peridot exclaimed, trying to sound sincere. "Maybe next time huh?"

"Nah, I'm sure we can get a quick match in before you guys leave right?" Steven asked.

"I dunno Steven." Lapis replied. "You guys' training might be a little intense for us." Peridot nodded in agreement.

"No way! you guys will do great." Steven said reassuringly. "Worse case scenario, someone gets poofed."

"I don't know Steven." Connie said worriedly. "They might be gems, but as a human, the training is intense." Steven gave her a reassuring smile.

"Everything's going to be fine guys." Steven said. "Besides if homeworld is really coming back, we need to be sure we do everything we can to protect the Earth. We don't have time to doubt ourselves." Lapis started to feel uneasy and diverted her eyes away from everyone. Connie nodded, while Peridot continued to sweat profusely.

"Ok here's how this is going to work." Steven said clearing his throat. "We are going to break into teams. Connie's with me and you guys are a team. We're gonna fight until you guys get poofed or we get knocked unconscious. There are no rules besides no killing and so it's fair we won't fuse."

"Hold on Steven." Peridot cut in. "Are you sure you guys don't need a break you guys seem exhausted."

"It'll be fine." Steven reassured. "Besides, it's more fair this way. This is you guys' first time training with us and we're tired. It evens out." After Steven finished going over the rules, Lapis and Peridot backed several feet away from Connie and Steven.

An awkward moment passed. Connie put the rest of the Crystal Gems into her pocket and drew her sword. Steven took a breath before summoning his shield and squatted into his fighting stance.

"Lapis! What the hell are we gonna do!?" Peridot asked Lapis in a whisper.

"Umm…" Lapis stammered. "They'll attack us, and we'll attack back and win."

"Wow your optimistic." Peridot said sarcastically.

"Look I dunno Peri! You're the planning gem." Lapis said frustratingly. "To be honest, they're probably gonna poof us!"

"No no no." Peridot answered. "Look just say "we'll do it together and it's gonna be great""

"Umm ok." Lapis said slightly confused. "We'll do it together and it's gonna be great."

"You think so?" Peridot asked hopefully.

"LET'S DO THIS!" Steven shouted flinging his shield at Lapis. Lapis looked up just in time to get hit in the forehead by Stevens shield. The shield bounced off of Lapis' forehead and sprang into the air. Steven sprinted forward and boot kicked Lapis in the stomach, sending her onto her back several yards away. Steven leaped into the air for a follow up attack. Peridot went to help Lapis, but Connie hit a combat roll in front of her and held her sword up in front of Peridot.

"Don't even think about it!" Connie said threateningly.

"Eeep!" Peridot squealed in fear, before taking a deep breath in. "Now Connie, you're a smart earthling. I'm sure we can get through this without fighting like Neanderthals."

"Save it Peridot!" Connie said sternly. "Your mind games aren't gonna work one me! Besides, we can talk after you reform!" Connie rushed peridot with a flurry of slashes. Connie swung her sword left, then right, and then dove in for a jab. Clumsily a Peridot avoided the slashes then hit an unbalanced back bend to avoid the the jab. Connie jumped back in fear of Peridot counter attack, but instead of attacking, Peridot retreated on all fours like a scared animal.

"What the?" Connie said confused about Peridot's battle tactics or lack thereof. She threw her sword at Peridot who was retreating with her back to Connie. Peridot turned around just in time to see the sword flying at her. She rolled onto her back avoiding the pink sword that pierced the ground beside her. Peridot smirked before rolling onto her feet. She attempted to pull Connie's sword up out of the ground but, it was wedged in the ground pretty good.

While Peridot was distracted Connie ran forward for another attack. She greeted Peridot with a slug across the face that knocked her away from the sword. Connie sent a karate kick crashing up against Peridot's chin. The attack sent Peridot flying into the air and landing on her neck. Peridot plopped onto her stomach and winced in pain. Connie ripped her sword out of the ground and quickly approached peridot to continue her onslaught

Meanwhile, Steven leaped into the air catching the shield he bounced off of Lapis' forehead and focused it around his forearm. After that, Steven began his descent to the ground face first to continue his attack on Lapis. Lapis rolled back onto her feet and shot her head up to see Steven's incoming attack. She squinted her eyes to get a good view of him. Steven had been training to focus his emotions in combat situations to better manipulate his powers, and right now he was speeding towards the ground like a bullet ready to do major damage to anything he comes into contact with.

Lapis waited till the last second to dodge Steven's bullet headbutt. At the last second Lapis hit a combat roll several feet away from where she was standing. Steven, inches from the ground, brought his shield in front of him to break his fall and bounce back onto his feet facing Lapis. A moment later the shield shattered due to its heavy impact on the ground. He stared at Lapis who stared back intently.

"What's wrong Lapis?" Steven asked summoning a new shield around his forearm. "Why aren't you fighting back?"

"Well I mean I was going to." Lapis stated honestly.I-I just don't really feel comfortable fighting you. You've done so much for me ya' know?"

"Yeah." Steven said trying to relate. "I know how you feel. It was hard for me to start fighting Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl at first too, but it's for the safety of Earth. If we don't train, we won't get strong. If we don't get strong, we won't be able to protect the earth and we'll lose. I don't want that,even more than I don't want to hurt you guys."

"S-Steven..." Lapis said realizing that Steven didn't want to fight anymore than she did. "Ok Steven, I'm gonna do this, not Just for you but for me."

"Thanks Lapis." Steven said dropping into his fighting stance. "Just pretend I'm Jasper." Lapis' eyes widened as the memories of Jasper and their fusion, Malachite, came rushing back to her. Those memories were reminders of the suffering Lapis had endured. She shut her eyes in an attempt to stop the memories.

Steven threw his shield at Lapis full speed, but when the shield got inches away from her face, Lapis' eyes burst end open and she knocked the shield away from her with one hand. Steven leaped forward this time aiming for a direct attack. Lapis crossed her arms over her chest and blocked Steven's first punch. Steven threw several punches that collided with Lapis' guard. Lapis winced in pain under the pressure of Steven's attack.

"Jeez" Lapis thought to herself. "I don't remember Steven being this strong. Then again, I've never really been in a serious fight with Steven." Steven hit a front flip and started to bring his heel down on Lapis, who crossed her arms above her head to block the attack.

After blocking the attack, Lapis grabbed a hold of Steven's leg and slung him away from her. Steven was flung just above the ground, before cartwheeling onto his feet. He stood across from Lapis who formed her wings and flew towards Steven. Her speed was was incredible. In mere moments she was in front of Steven and her dropkick sent Steven flying into a nearby pillar.

Meanwhile, Connie skillfully swung her sword again and Peridot clumsily dodged.

"Woah woah WOAH! Please take it easy with that sword." Peridot said narrowly escaping the blades reach.

"Not a chance!" Connie shouted, leaping into the air attempting to come down with a jump slash. Peridot's eyes widened. She threw her arms up and her powers slung Connie's sword along with her into a nearby pillar. Connie's body collided with the stone pillar with a thud, and she slid to the ground just below her sword.

"You know you could have made that experience a lot less painful if you would have just let go of the sword." Peridot said approaching a still collapsed Connie.

"Oh I know." Connie said, struggling to her feet. "But a good swords woman never lets go of her sword!" Connie stood strong and yanked the pink blade from the stone pillar behind her.

Connie held her sword confidently in her right hand. She adjusted herself back into her fighting stance. This time she got lower and had her left hand free in front of her while her right hand held her sword slightly behind her. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, causing Peridot to internally gulp heavily. Connie opened her eyes calmly. Her new focus reawakened her fiery determination to win. With all the emotions running around in her head under her control, she lunged forward to continue the attack on Peridot.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ruins, Steven was struggling to keep up with Lapis' speed. It was one thing when the fight first started,but when Lapis went airborne, it has been that much harder for Steven to get close to her let alone inflict damage. Lapis flew along the edges of the arena, before turning around and zipping back at Steven full speed. She flew into Steven forcefully knocking him onto his back. Steven groaned before leaping back onto his feet just in time to get knocked back to the ground by Lapis' aerial attacks. Steven realized that if he wanted win this he was going to have to be on his toes to avoid taking extra damage. Steven flipped back onto his feet and immediately turned himself to the right just narrowly dodging another one of Lapis' high speed aerial attacks. That instant, Steven grabbed a hold of Lapis' ankle, jumped into the air, and slung Lapis around before slamming her back first into the floor of the arena.

The attack caught Lapis completely off guard. The slam knocked the wind out her and she found it extremely difficult to regain her composure. Steven landed on the ground still holding on to Lapis' ankle and used his improving strength to sling her over 50 feet into the air. There Lapis finally started regained her composure. She formed her water wings and hovered there for a moment. Steven blasted up from the ground approaching Lapis, who was still trying to catch her breath. As Steven flew up higher Lapis finally completely composed herself.

She saw Steven now only a few feet away from her, but something was different about him. He to was fully composed and focused, just like the day he first summoned his shield against her. He seemed determined at all cost just like back then to prove himself and stand up for what he believed in, but his eyes bothered Lapis. The look Steven carried in his eyes was nothing new to Lapis.

That look of frightening determination even if it was for the wrong cause. It was that look Jasper had when she begged Lapis to fuse with her. It was the look the gems had when the war for earth trapped her in a mirror for thousand of years. The memories malachite and the mirror came rushing back to Lapis and she closed her eyes to shield herself from its torment. However, Lapis shutting her eyes wouldn't shield her from Steven, who was now directly above her. Steven clasped his hands above his head and brought them down on Lapis, sending her spiraling down to the arena floor. Lapis' descent was deadly fast, and her impact with cause a huge explosion of dirt and debris.

Peridot and Connie shielded themselves from the force of the impact.

"Lapis!" Peridot cried out worriedly. Eventually the dust cleared to reveal an enormous crater dead in the center of the Ruins. In the center of the crater, Lapis laid there battered and bruised. Scratches from the impact had made themselves at home all along Lapis' arms and legs. Her blue skirt was tattered and torn to the point to the point to where it barely covered her right leg at all. Lapis laid there seemingly unconscious with her limbs laid out in all directions. Steven, still floating around in the air, looked down in disbelief.

"No way!" Steven thought to himself. "That's insane. I didn't hold back at all! She should have poofed on impact." Steven started his descent to finish his fight with Lapis. Peridot darted off toward Lapis, completely abandoning her fight with Connie. Peridot ran as fast she could toward the crater. Her steps had meaning and purpose, and that pushed Peridot to run even crater was only a few meters away. Peridot started to close in on it, when the pink blade zipped past her and lodged itself in the ground. The blade had nicked Peridot's arm on its way past her. Peridot turned to Connie sprinting toward her with great speed.

"Your fight is with ME!" Connie yelled leaping into air. "And I'm not finished yet!" Connie forcefully brought her left heel down on Peridot's head and once her left foot hit the ground, Connie brought her right foot up successfully connecting it with Peridot's chin. The attack lifted Peridot into the Air. Connie finished her attack by bringing her right foot down and sending her left foot into Peridot's gut sending her tumbling several feet across the arena.

Peridot struggled to her feet.

"So much for not letting go of your sword." Peridot quipped glancing over the crater where Lapis was.

"The rule doesn't apply to you if you're also a martial artist." Connie said falling into her fighting stance. Peridot heard Lapis groaning in the crater and became wide eyed.

"Listen Corey, I really really need you to move." Peridot said seriously.

"It's Connie." Connie corrected. "And like I said before NOT A CHANCE!" Connie leaped toward Peridot again.

Meanwhile Steven just landed a few feet outside of the crater. There was no rush to poof Lapis especially since she was already unconscious. Lapis struggled to wake up. She found herself floating in void that was completely free from any form of light. Then, from the deepest darkest corner of the void, Malachite appeared charging at her full speed with the intent to kill. Malachite's roar shook the void and split the very essence of fear all over Lapis' body. That gruesome and horrifying image made Lapis' eyes pop open. Seconds after Lapis' eyes opened, the waves of pain set in and weighed her body to the ground mercilessly.

Through the pain Lapis struggled to sit up slowly. She rolled over onto her hands and knees and finally inched herself onto her feet. Steven, now on the edge of the crater, was now in even more disbelief that Lapis was able to stand up after the attack he put her through. Steven slid down the side of the crater, ran to center of the crater where he met a barely standing Lapis Lazuli, and greeted her an outstanding gut punch that sent her flying out of the crater and into a nearby pillar. Lapis hit the ground forcefully, causing cracks to spread out and away from where she had landed. Again she managed to stand with the help of the ancient pillar.

Steven leaped out of the crater and charged Lapis with a barrage of fists. The force of the attacks had Lapis' back against the pillar. She crossed her arms over her face to prevent Steven from getting anymore face shots, but Steven took the opportunity to focus on stomach punches. One after another, Steven's fists pounded away at Lapis to the point to where the pillar behind Lapis began to crack and crumble. Steven finished his combo by kicking Lapis directly in stomach, sending her through the pillar and onto the ground where she slid on her side until she was directly in front of Connie, who had Peridot trapped in a headlock.

Peridot's eyes widened on Lapis. Lapis was beaten down horribly. Her body was extremely bruised and every so often Lapis would twitch from the amount of pain she was in. Peridot teared up. She couldn't stand to see someone she cared about in this much pain. She stopped trying to resist Connie's head lock and Stared at her friend, who had just when through the beating of a lifetime. In an instant her sadness boiled into an enormous rage. Peridot clenched her fist tightly in anger and her gem began to glow a radiant light that only got brighter and brighter. The light edged around Peridot's body and her eye sockets radiated the green light as well.

"Wooah." Connie said in awe of the situation. She moved to tighten her grip around Peridot's neck but was blasted on to her back by Peridot's energy. Peridot's shades slid off of her face and hit the ground, revealing Peridot's eyes, which were completely engulf in the lime green light.

"No way!" Steven said landing in front of Lapis. "Looks like someone's getting into the training!" Peridot lifted her hand at Steven who had just formed another shield around his arm.

"That's enough." Peridot said authoritatively.

"Sorry P-dot." Steven said remorsefully. "but the fights not over until you guys are poofed or we are unconscious." In an Instant Steven moved to bring his shield down Lapis, while Connie flipped back onto her feet to attack Peridot. A moment passed but no one moved a muscle. Steven stood there unmoving with his shield inches away from Lapis' face and Connie stood behind Peridot fist cocked back but unable to move forward.

"W-what the heck is going on!?" Connie managed to say frozen in place.

"I-I can't move at all!" Steven muttered as sweat dripped down from his chin.

"Allow me to explain." Peridot said calmly. "The human race is composed of both a male and female gender. Males have on average 4 grams of iron in their body, while females have about 3.5 grams of iron in their body. While this is a relatively low percent of metal it is still evenly deposited throughout your bodies, and I have the ability to manipulate metal."

"Okay, but how are you going to knock us out?" Steven asked.

"Oh right now I could do a lot worse than knock you two unconscious." Peridot said confidently. "You have any idea the damage of every single fiber of iron leaving your body at one time would do?"

Connie sighed. "We inevitably die shortly afterwards."

"Oh wow." Steven said not realizing the position he was in. "Looks like you win. I give."

"I give up too" Connie said nervously. Peridot let go of their inner metals and Steven and Connie fell onto their hands and knees exhausted. Peridot's Green energy faded away and her eyes dimmed back down to normal. After that, she to fell to her knees in complete exhaustion. The four laid there together to catch their breath after a long day of hard work.


	3. Help from Friends

Chapter Two

Help from friends

The fight left the ruins in shambles. Barely a third of the pillars were left standing and the floor was decayed with cracked tiles. With all the destruction the fight had brought, it set a great contrast between the arena and the sky, which couldn't have looked any fresher. The Sunday group training session took all morning and now that the clashing of fists and the swinging of swords subsided, the sun glimmered brilliantly in the sky.

The four remaining laid around each other on their backs. Sure Connie and Steven were exhausted but, they had had fought in both training matches and actually managed to walk away with a victory. This victory put them at ease. Peridot was more amazed than tired. Sure she took a bit of a beating but she ultimately saw something in her herself that she had never seen before and that left her in shock. Out of everyone who laid there, Lapis took the greatest beating and her defeat left her there quiet and motionless, staring up at the sky almost like she was looking for answers.

"Holy Smokes." Peridot said to herself, slapping her hands over her eyes.

"I'll say." Connie agreed remembering Peridot's attack.

"Yeh.." Steven said still thoroughly amazed. Lapis said nothing and continued to glare at the sky.

"Well upsy daisy!" Peridot said sitting up with a chuckle. She stood up slowly but she was so content with herself that her fatigue from the fight didn't bother her in the least. She walked of to Lapis and held her hand out to help Lapis up. Lapis took Peridot's hand but winced in pain as Peridot pulled her onto her feet. Peridot put Lapis' arm around her neck and the two began to make their way toward the warp pad.

"Well thanks for the training Steven!" Peridot yelled gleefully. "Same time next week?" Steven groaned before sitting up.

"W-wait you guys don't wanna hang out?" Steven asked. "I mean training's done for Today, we could at least watch a movie or something until the others reform."

"Ummm.." Peridot stammered to groaned audibly from the pain she was in. "Are you okay Lapis?" Peridot asked worriedly.

"Never better." Lapis responded sarcastically.

"Yeh Lapis isn't looking too good." Peridot thought to herself. "It might do her more good to spend some time with Steven while she recovers so… what the heck!" Peridot turned to Steven and Connie with a big smile.

"Sure!" She yelled enthusiastically. Steven smiled before getting up excitedly. He helped Connie onto her feet before sprinting for the warp pad.

"WooHoo! Party!" Steven yelled somersaulting onto the warp pad.

"I have absolutely no idea where he gets his energy from." Connie said, catching up to Lapis and Peridot.

"I believe he receives his energy from that pink gemstone located where most humans find their belly button." Peridot answered factually.

"You don't say.." Lapis groaned resting her head in Peridot's hair. The girls laughed lightly before catching up to Steven on the warp pad. Steven flung his arms outward excitedly activating the warp pad, beaming the group to the Crystal gem temple.

In a flash of blue light, the group arrived at the temple via warp pad. When Steven was younger the gems built his room around the warp pad. It was more like a small house complete with a living room, kitchen, and a bathroom.

"Well that was quick." Peridot said, lowly throwing shade at the warp pad she built.

"A lot less spinning to." Lapis added smiling weakly. Peridot helped Lapis up to Steven's bed and laid her down gently.

"You get some rest okay?" Peridot said softly. Lapis blushed cutely. She wasn't use to Peridot giving her this much attention.

"Will do." Lapis said rolling onto her side. Peridot hesitated to leave the bedside, but she eventually found herself making her way down stairs. She met Steven and Connie in the kitchen. They had placed the rest of the Crystal gems in the fruit bowl and were searching the kitchen.

"We're looking for snacks!" Connie said excitedly.

"Yeah!" Steven said stepping into the counter to search the cabinets. "If we're gonna throw a party, we gotta throw it right."

"For why?" Peridot questioned. "I thought we were just hanging out or whatever."

" Oh we are." Steven said hopping off the counter. "It's just that we rarely hang out ….and when we do we're usually fighting something."

"Mmm I suppose your right." Peridot agreed reluctantly.

"Steven we're not looking to good on snacks." Connie said disappointedly standing up from the cabinets.

"Awe man. You're totally right." Steven said sadly. "Amethyst must have cleaned us out right before training."

"So what do we do now?" Peridot asked leaning against the refrigerator.

"Well I have a twenty in my pillow case." Steven answered. "Maybe you and Connie could go down to Fish Stew Pizza and pick up a pizza, while I stay her with Lapis to make sure she's not having any nightmares."

"Sounds like a plan." Connie said enthusiastically.

"Uhhh I don't know Steven." Peridot said eyeing Lapis, who was upstairs passed out.

"Don't worry Peridot." Steven reassured. "She'll be fine. Here I'll go get the money." Steven ran upstairs and carefully retrieved the twenty dollars from his pillow without waking Lapis, who had finally drifted into a calmer snooze. Steven leaped through the air and used his floating ability to land directly in front of Connie and Peridot.

"For you Madam." Steven said handing Connie the bill.

"Why thank you kind sir." Connie giggle while playing along. "Wouldst thou have any fine request?"

"Surprise me." Steven said rolling the r and curling his imaginary mustache around his finger.

"As you wish." Connie said before standing up as straight as she could and walking out of Steven's house. Peridot reluctantly followed Connie outside, closing the screen door behind her. Steven stood in place for a moment with his head cocked to the side and his lips pouted out just in case Connie turned around to check to see if he was still in character. Once he saw Connie walking down the beach, he turned his attention towards Lapis who was still sound asleep.

Steven walked upstairs and sat beside Lapis who had rolled onto her side facing Steven. Steven looked Lapis up and down before frowning. Her body was covered with cuts and bruises. Steven felt terrible for going so hard on her. He could sense that she was distracted, but its not like Homeworld gems are gonna hold back under any circumstances.

Steven licked his right palm and used his left hand to shift Lapis' bangs up revealing forehead. He placed his right hand over her forehead. A moment passed before Lapis' gem began glowing dimly. The cuts and bruises that were scattered all over Lapis' battered body began to fade and soon enough, all of her wounds and fatigue had been relieved thanks to Steven's magic saliva which dissolved into her skin.

Now Lapis laid there comfortably. She even began cutely talking to herself.

"No you're a clod!" She giggled innocently to herself before snorting. Lapis opened her eyes slowly, meeting Steven's gaze.

"Did you heal me? Lapis asked, sitting up in Steven's bed.

"Yeah." Steven said, rubbing the back of his head bashfully. "It's no big deal. Sorry I took so long. I wanted to talk alone for a second."

"Where is everyone?" Lapis asked scanning the room.

"Well Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl are reforming in the fruit bowl and I sent Peridot and Connie to go get pizza." Steven answered.

"Oh ok." Lapis asked. "Well what do you want to talk about?" Steven fiddled his feet against bed before answering.

"Well first I wanted to apologize for being so rough on you earlier." Steven said sincerely. "I could sense that you were distracted and I still sent you crashing into the ground.."

"Steven it's fine really." Lapis said sitting next to Steven on the edge of the bed. "I really underestimated you, so maybe I needed to be put in the ground." The two giggled a bit before Steven laid back. A silence crept up on them before Lapis sighed. She laid back next to Steven.

"Ugh! I envy you Steven." Lapis sighed. "You're so carefree like all the time. You're so generous to everyone. Your friends….your enemies….I just can't understand it."

"Hey now everyone deserves a second chance right?" Steven said staring up at the ceiling. "I mean the gems were terrified of you and that was something I couldn't understand. Maybe me being naive was a good thing y'know. I mean the gems would have kept you and Peridot in stasis forever."

"Must be nice." Lapis said lowly. "I'm so haunted by my past. Even after you helped me so much, the war, the mirror, Jasper…. It all came rushing back to me during our fight, and when it did I-i couldn't function. It was like watching you from the bottom of the ocean."

"I knew it!" Steven said with a smile. "Even before you got distracted I could tell you were pulling your punches. When we figure this out, I want a rematch." Lapis looked over at Steven confused.

"Why?" She asked. "You got a thing for fighting now? What happened to the fart noises?"

"Heh heh heh no way!" Steven laughed. "I just like to see people at their best y'know." The two laid there once more in silence before Lapis spoke up.

"Steven?" She asked turning to him?

"What's up?" Steven said still staring up at the ceiling.

"W-what's love?" Lapis asked curiously. The question shocked Steven, who instantly started blushing. He sat up in slight panic. He knew Lapis wasn't joking around so he needed to give her a truthful answer.

" Uh w-well its kinda complicated." Steven stalled. "Why the sudden interest?" Steven looked back at Lapis who now had her eyes focused on the ceiling.

"I don't know really." She said honestly. "It just feels like something big is missing out of my life y' know. Maybe...maybe if it's love it can help me overcome all of the things that happened to me. I know you know. You and Connie were all over each other during a fight."

"Eh your right." Steven agreed. " Me and Connie have something greater than familial love, but it takes time to build y'know. Like love isn't something that you can necessarily control. It's just a really strong feeling to be with someone. It's something that makes you do things without thinking. It's something that drives you forward in order to protect something. The others say my mom loved the Earth and that drove her to rebel against homeworld despite all the odds."

"Is it possible to love someone who doesn't love you back." Lapis asked meeting Steven's gaze.

"Y-yeh actually it is." Steven answered sadly. "That's the thing, it's not guaranteed that the person you love is gonna love you back at all, and at that point you gotta be strong enough to let them go." Lapis noticed the seriousness in Steven's tone and began to tear up.

"L-lapis are you ok?" Steven asked. Lapis sat up next to him and wiped her tears away with a sniffle.

"I'm fine." Lapis said finally. "It's just that sometimes i really don't know."

"Know what?" Steven asked scooting closer to Lapis. Lapis didn't answer. Instead she stared intently at the ground.

"Hey." Steven said said softly setting a supportive hand on Lapis' shoulder. "You can talk to me." Lapis looked back at his friend with a weak smile before taking a deep breath in and out.

"I remember when you first told me that me and Peri were gonna be roommates." Lapis started still looking at the ground. "I was such a jerk to her all day long. Even after you scolded me and I saved us from the Rubies' ship, I stayed distant with her afterwards. She knew I hated her for bringing me back to earth informant or not and she tried so hard to make it up to me. So much so that she put aside her own needs just to make me feel better...just to make me smile, but now we're in unknown territory where we spend almost all of our time together but not really together together."

"Aw Lapis.." Steven said looking at the sad gem. " Why don't you just tell her how you feel?"

" Well that's just it Steven." Lapis said looking up at Steven. "I'm not sure how I feel I just know I want something more from our relationship. I know….that something is there….between us Steven but it's like there's a wall stopping us from being like you and Connie."

"That wall is only there because you and Peridot haven't addressed the elephant in the room." Steven said supportively. "I'm sure Peridot feels the exact same as you, but like you said this is all new territory to her to."

"Elephant?" Lapis asked, unfamiliar with the term.

"It's a figure of speech." Steven explained. "Also an animal."

"Jeez you human are pretty weird." Lapis said cupping her face up in her hands.

"Yeh we are." Steven said with a smile. "And so is love. For now try not to think about it too much." Lapis nodded before Steven got up and walked over to the tv. From there he started searching through the cheesy anime movies he had stacked on top of it. Meanwhile in beach city, Peridot and Connie had finally made it to Fish-Stew pizza and were sitting at a table waiting on their pizza to be made. Connie was on her phone, making sure her mom knew where she was while Peridot used her metal powers to slightly tilt the small metal salt shaker at their table. Connie glanced away from her phone and noticed Peridot's antics. She decided to break the awkward silence.

"You were really amazing at practice today." Connie complimented.

"Wow thanks." Peridot responded dryly. Connie continued. "Steven and I had no idea you were that strong. Not to be rude but I didn't think you were gonna be much of a fight at all."

"I know." Peridot said diverting her eyes away from Connie. She let out a small forceful sigh.

" Are you alright?" Connie asked slipping her phone into her pocket.

"Y-yeh." Peridot stammered. "I-it's just…"

"It's just what?" Connie asked.

"It's just that you guys were right to assume I wouldn't be able to put up much of a fight." Peridot admitted ashamed of herself.

"What do you mean?" Connie asked. "You totally kicked our butts."

"Yeh, but that doesn't change the fact that you were kicking my but for the duration of the match." Peridot answered. " I saw Lapis crash into the ground… Steven was beating the crap out of her and something about that brought about something in me. Something I've never seen before. Something scary. I mean I would never hurt you or Steven but seeing Lapis getting the beating of her life right in front of me infuriated me and it doesn't really feel like it was me who won the fight. I mean don't get me wrong a victory is a victory but still…."

"Awe that's sweet Peridot." Connie said with a smile.

"Yeh it doesn't feel like it." Peridot replied staring down at her hands which she had sitting on the table.

"How come?" Connie asked starting to lean over the table.

"W-well...things have been a bit awkward between us lately." Peridot started shyly. "I-i mean I've been living with Lapis for a while now.. And we've gotten closer than ever but Lapis definitely wants to be even closer."

"And you don't ?" Connie asked curiously.

"No no of course I do !" Peridot said frantically. "It's just that….. During my existence I've screwed up so many times. To the point to where my whole standard for right and wrong got completely reversed. Sure I've done a lot of good but it's ultimately my fault Lapis got stuck here on Earth with me. At first it was about making up for the giant mess I made but somewhere along the line it became more than that. Lapis has been through so much trauma not including my mess up. I know more than anyone that she needs stability more than anything, but I'm such a screw up. I wouldn't want us to get closer just so I could mess it up like everything else in my life." There was a moment a silence between the two.

"Did you ever tell Lapis all of this?" Connie asked a bit too close for comfort.

"OH MY STARS!" Peridot jumped, not realizing how close Connie had gotten. "Of course not! How could I? This whole 'talk about your feelings thing is so new to me. I use to just follow orders y'know. And now I'm here on earth trying to describe my complicated feelings to someone."

"Well it's never easy at first." Connie said supportively. "To be honest, Steven was the first friend I've ever had and when I thought my mom wasn't going to let me see him anymore it tore me apart. Me and him attempted to run away together."

"Attempted?" Peridot asked. "What happened?"

"The gems formed Alexandrite and picked up the bus we were on." Connie said nonchalantly. "My parents realized that the gems were pretty good parents after that fiasco."

"Wow those clods really do use fusion for everything." Peridot smiled still down about Lapis.

"Hey don't worry about it Peridot. I know you guys are going through a weird time right now but I know it will all work out." Connie said supportively.

"How can you be so sure?" Peridot asked meeting her gaze.

"I've been hanging out with Garnet lately." Connie responded with a smile. "Call it a hunch." Connie's support eased Peridot's mind. It had been a long day for both of them and a nice open conversation helped ease the tensions between them. From there Kiki called them to the counter and gave them their pizza with completely randomized toppings per Stevens request. Peridot and Connie made their way back to Steven's house where they joined the rest of the gems, who had reformed in there absence. They all had a seat somewhere on Steven's bed to partake in a much needed relaxing movie night.


	4. A Vow to become stronger together

**Chapter 3**

A vow to become stronger together and a much needed rematch

The movie night was great. The group ended up watching Steven's Lonely Blade movie collection. Garnet Amethyst, Pearl, and Steven had already seen all of them, but it was still nice to revisit them. Connie on the other hand had never seen Lonely Blade, but she still found it enjoyable despite the inaccuracies. Lapis had a tough time getting into it and spent most of the night asleep. Peridot was focused into the movies more than anyone and left Steven's house with Lapis feeling inspired and determined to make a weapon superior to Lonely Blade's.

After the last Lonely Blade movie ended, Lapis and Peridot used the Temple warp to the warp back to the warp pad closest to the barn. The two stepped off the warp pad and slowly made their way back to the barn. There was a thick silence between them as they softly approached the barn

.

Lapis clutched her left arm with her right subtlety. She wanted to say something. She wanted to say something about today but she couldn't. How could she? She glanced over at Peridot, who was nervously chewing on her upper lip. Finally, they reached the barn door which Peridot opened after inputting the right code in the keypad she designed herself.

They walked in and the lights flickered on automatically. Peridot was slowly but surely turning the barn into their own personal gem cave complete with their own art and flare. Lapis walked over to her hammock and sat down. She held her hands over her lap while Peridot had a seat on the couch which was positioned right in front of Lapis' hammock. Peridot usually slept in the truck they built into the roof of barn but, she sat in front of Lapis because she too had something to say. Nothing was between them except the old television set which had a few seasons of Camp Pining Hearts stacked on top of it.

Peridot sighed heavily. "Man today was pretty wild huh?" She asked, chuckling nervously.

"Yeah…" Lapis curtly agreed. Steven's words nagged at her.

"Why don't you just tell her how you feel?" She heard Steven say carelessly. As if it was that simple. As if it were just a few words Lapis just had to get off of her chest. No it was more like a dictionary and her getting ragdolled during training was only adding on to the baggage.

"W-we make a pretty good team." Peridot says cutting through Lapis' thoughts. "I'm really glad things worked o-."

"No." Lapis interrupted coldly. "We don't make a good team and its my fault things didn't work out."

" Lapis…." Peridot said under her breath starting to get up.

" I-i wasn't ready for today to be as intense as it was." Lapis admitted. "I got stomped and you ended having to carry me...I'm sorry I didn't pull my weight." Lapis stared at the floor feeling hot and ashamed, revisiting her defeat. Peridot got her knees and made her way over to Lapis. Peridot stopped in front of Lapis, and tilted her head under Lapis' face to make sure Lapis didn't have any choice but to see and listen to her. She gently place a hand on Lapis' knee.

"Laz you don't have to apologize for today." Peridot said softly. "It's nothing to be ashamed of either. Those clods do nothing but train and go on missions anyway. So don't beat yourself up over I-"

"That's not it!" Lapis interrupted frustratedly. "I know I could have beaten Steven today. There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that I couldn't… It's just when we started to fight, I started to feel things and I couldn't concentrate. I wasn't expecting Steven to be as strong as he was and it just brought up things I can't really explain."

" What kind of things?" Peridot asked looking into Lapis' eyes.

"I know it sounds crazy." Lapis said meeting Peridot's gaze. "But when he came at me it was like Jasper was coming at me or I was back in a war I had no place in…..I got scared and the next thing I knew I couldn't move.."

"And then Steven beat you into the ground." Peridot said, finishing the scenario. Lapis nodded sadly.

"God I absolutely hate feeling like this!" Lapis yelled angrily. "Steven knocked me out cold and you beat him and Connie at the same time?! How am I supposed to believe that? How could you handle both of them when you were so scared to fight in the first place?"

"Lapis…." Peridot started. "It was more complicated than that. It's not like I j-..."

"I feel so weak and helpless." Lapis said, standing up from her hammock. She clenched her fists tightly. "Peridot… I need you to do something for me…"

"A-a-and what's that?" Peridot asked scurrying onto her feet. She could feel Lapis' presence darken and it sent chills all throughout her body.

"Fight me." She said ominously.

"W-what?!" Peridot stammered. "Fight you? W-why?"

"I know I was pathetic today…" Lapis said standing up and starting to move forward. "I need to reassure myself that I'm not as weak as I feel!" Peridot sighed.

"Listen Laz, it's late how about we get some rest and train again tomorrow?" Peridot asked trying to calm her down.

"You're stalling." Lapis said calling Peridot out indifferently. "You said it yourself. Gems don't need sleep. Meet me outside when you're ready." Lapis walked passed Peridot and made her way outside the barn. Peridot, still shook, began running her hands through her hair wildly.

"This is bad this is bad this bad this bad!" She thought to herself frantically. "The Hell am I gonna do?! I can't fight Lapis I don't even know how my power works and even if I did how could I use it on her?! And she's so upset. She's well beyond reason right now. Oh my stars! Why is she sooo unpredictable?" Peridot worriedly turned towards the door which had automatically shut after Lapis left. She cupped her face in an attempt to calm herself down. She took deep breaths before standing up straight.

"Woah woah calm down Peri." Peridot thought to herself. "Losing my head won't get me anywhere. I'll just give her an honest fight, she'll appreciate it,I'll tell her about my feelings, and everything will be fine." Peridot started towards the door confidently. Meanwhile on the outside of the barn lapis leaned on the wall just beside the door. She eyed the pool dejectedly.

"It was too hard for me to talk this out anyway." Lapis brooded to herself. "Maybe Peri will be able to understand how I feel in the context of a fight. Kinda like Pierce and Paulette when they understood each other best during that obstacle course." The door opened slowly and Peridot came out boldly. She didn't so much as look at Lapis on her way out. She just walked past her and stood in front of the crops. Pumpkin was completely asleep on the truck bed overlooking the clearing. Peridot sighed before meeting lapis' gaze from across the field.

"I'm assuming we fight until one of us calls uncle." Peridot called out straightforwardly.

"Yeah." Lapis answered. "That's fine with me." Peridot let out an uneasy chuckle followed by a nervous smirk.

"Steven got off easy fighting a abstracted lapis." Peridot thought to herself. "But I'll be fighting the real deal. No doubt the smaller than average lake will give her exceptionally increased range putting me at a huge disadvantage .If I want to win this, I'll have to get in close before she covers all of my options with her hydrotelokenis."

"I'll use the pool to locked her down." Lapis thought, dropping into her fighting stance. "I'll force her into a corner so she'll have to use her power on me….then I'll make her surrender." Lapis stood directly across from Peridot, right in front of the barns double doors. A cool night breeze blew passed them, swaying their hair to the side and creating ripples in the stillness of the pool.

"I'm ready when you are!" Peridot shouted from across the way.

"Bring it!" Lapis replied aggressively. That instant Peridot sprung forward. She knew the first few seconds of the match were crucial. Peridot ran at Lapis full speed who wasted no time taking action.

Lapis quickly held her right arm out from her body opening her her palm. As she did that, the water in the pool began whirling around furiously. In mere seconds, a pillar of swirling water rushed out of the pool and made its way over to Lapis' right hand. Lapis held the stream of water out from her body with her right hand and punched the the stream with her left hand sending dozens of miniature water chains bursting out towards Peridot.

In an instant the chains were inches away from Peridot who reacted instinctively. She clumsily managed her way around the chains. For the chains that came from the left, Peridot dodged to the right. For the chains that came from the right, Peridot weaved to the left. For the chains that came from above, Peridot hit an uneasy back bend. To dodge the chains that came from below, Peridot leaped into the air. Peridot grunted mid-air.

"Tsk! All this effort just to get close!" Peridot thought to herself inching closer and closer towards Lapis. "I've only got one shot to win this… If I don't floor her with this punch it's game over! I can't mess this up! No matter what!"

Peridot landed a few feet away from Lapis who had drained away the stream she pulled from the pool. Peridot lunged forward, this time as quickly as possible to attack lapis before she brought more water into the mix. At first Peridot's persistence shocked Lapis, but she wouldn't let her guard down a second time. Peridot cocked her right arm back mid lounge. She was about to put all of her strength into this attack.

It was checkmate for Lapis Peridot thought swinging her fist forward as hard as she could, but something was off. Peridot felt her fist connect to something but a splash was heard. Peridot opened her eyes to see that Lapis summoned a water wing to block her attack. Peridot landed right in front of Lapis, her hand still caught in the water wing. Lapis clenched her fist tighter and the wing's grip on Peridot's hand tightened as well.

"How much longer are you going to toy with me?!" Lapis shouted angrily crashing her foot into Peridot's stomach. The attack send Peridot flying onto her back several feet away from Lapis. Peridot groaned before stubbornly rolling onto her side. "When are you gonna fight me seriously?!"

"What do you think I'm doing right now?!" Peridot asked frustratedly. "I can't think of a single reason to hold back at a time like this." Lapis sighed.

"I don't understand why you won't just use the same strength you used to defeat Steven and Connie against me." Lapis said watching Peridot struggle to her feel

"I can't." Peridot answered lowly.

"And why not?" Lapis questioned impatiently.

"B-because it's not my strength." Peridot stammered.

"Then whose strength is it Peridot?" Lapis asked crossing her arms.

"Err um it's not really strength at all." Peridot started nervously. "You see it's kinda-..."

"Kinda what Peridot?" Lapis interrupted hurtfully. "Kind of a lie? It's good to know you think I'm weak and stupid! If it's not strength then what the Hell is it?!"

"IT'S LOVE!" Peridot yelled facing her with her head down. Peridot blushed heavily after yelling over Lapis who was too shocked to even say anything. Peridot started towards her slowly. "It was my love for you that defeated them. I saw Steven beating you into the ground and it tore me apart knowing that I couldn't help you. Connie was faster and stronger than me. Any move I made she countered just about flawlessly, but it was something about seeing your body hit the ground that made me shake. There was something about your face being pounded in that made my blood boil. Next thing I knew something snapped, and I knew in my mind and my body that I was going to help you. It didn't matter what I was up against, I was going to protect you. It was in that moment I knew exactly how I felt about you. It was in that moment that I knew that my existence would be spent protecting you and our home from any threat. I don't care how strong I have to get and to be completely honest I wouldn't want it any other way."

When Peridot finished, she stood directly in front of Lapis who was in complete awe at what she just heard.

"Peridot.. I had no idea you felt that way." Lapis said peering down at Peridot who was inches away from her. "I was so scared that you wouldn't want anything to do with me. I mean I couldn't blame you with all the problems I have with my past."

"I was scared." Peridot admitted openly. "Recently I've been kind of cold towards you but it's not because I don't want anything to do with you... I-it's quite the opposite actually. We've been living on earth together for a few months but things like love and relationships were still foreign territory for me and for the longest time I've been too scared to take that first step even though it could be the greatest adventure I'd ever get to be a part of."

Peridot and Lapis stared at each other teary eyed for a moment before Lapis spoke.

"Y'know that was literally the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." She started with a blush. "I have no doubt that you're the gem I wanna be with, but in order to be the gem that I want to be, I'm gonna have be able to take care of myself. My whole life I've feared the diamonds and ever since I found out that we're training to go up against homeworld all I've thought about secretly in the back of my head is 'why not run away' I've had plenty of opportunities but something stopped me from leaving every single time. That something was you Peri. I've been meaning to tell you how I felt but i was sure you'd brush me off. I can't leave because my home is with you and I can't let anything get in the way of that."

Lapis saw the tears welling up in Peridot's eyes. Peridot leaped into Lapis' arms and the force sent the two gems to the ground. Lapis hugged Peridot's waist while Peridot cupped her tiny hands around Lapis' face. The two shared a long passionate kiss under the warm starry night sky.

"I love you." Peridot said cuddling up next to Lapis on the truck bed.

"I love you too." Lapis said pulling peridot closer to her. The two fell asleep together for the first time in weeks, this time completely at peace with one another.

Lapis and Peridot slept in the next day, but the next morning found Steven bright eyed and bushy tailed. He woke to her the other crystal gems lightly discussing something important in the living room. Steven quietly sat up in his bed in an attempt to hear what all the chatter was about.

"Well how much power did you use?" Amethyst asked Pearl impatiently.

"Hardly any at all." Pearl answered frivolously. "There just children after all!"

"Well I was takin' it easy on em' too P!" Amethyst said defensively.

"Enough!" Garnet cut in frustratedly. "We need to be more specific! Pearl put a number to power you used."

"Oh well ummm.." Pearl stammered. "I'd say I only used about twenty percent of my full power in the fight."

"Amethyst?" Garnet said turning towards Amethyst. "What about you?" Amethyst thought for a moment before cracking her knuckles and deciding on a number.

"I'd say I only used about fifteen percent of my full power!" Amethyst said proudly one upping Pearl by five percent. Pearl crossed her arms to stop herself from calling Amethyst's bluff, but Garnet's intense stare made Amethyst rethink her number.

"Ok ok it was more like a third of my full power." Amethyst admitted seriously.

"Honestly Amethyst you should really take more care in how you fight." Pearl warned. "If you would have taken it any easier on Connie they probably would have figured you out."

"Oh get off my back already." Amethyst said annoyed. "You're always trying to ride someone's di-"

"What are we talking about?" Steven said surprising the group in the kitchen.

"Oh Steven!" Pearl said surprised to see him. "Ummm we were just talking about our err.. Umm.. Our chances to.."

"Win the lottery!" Amethyst finished excitedly.

"Oh really?" Steven questioned unimpressed with their ruse. "Because it sounded like all you guys were holding back yesterday!"

"Whaaat!?" Pearl exclaimed pretending that Steven's analysis was way off.

"Yeh why would we do that?" Amethyst asked nonchalantly.

"Guys you don't have to lie to me ok." Steven said vexingly. "It's just kind of disappointing to hear I was trying my best for no reason."

"It wasn't in vain." Garnet said finally. "We wanted to assess you and Connie as a team and you two have grown tremendously. We are all proud."

"Yeh." Steven said aggravated that everyone was missing the point of his frustration. "Well I bet Connie would want an honest fight without all the hand holdy percentages."

"Aww c'mon Steven.." Amethyst argued nonchalantly sitting herself up on Steven's counter.

" Amethyst is right Steven." Pearl agreed. "We've been Crystal Gems for thousands of years. It's only natural that you and Connie would have a little trouble catching up to us."

"That's the thing!" Steven replied throwing his hands above his head. "I wanna know that I have catching up to do. I wanna know how much more powerful you guys are than me so I can get strong too. I thought that was why we were training in the first place. It's not like HomeWorld gems are gonna hold back two thirds of their power just because I'm a kid!" Garnet walked past Amethyst and Pearl and kneeled in front of Steven.

"You're right Steven." Garnet said calmly agreeing with Steven. "We shouldn't have held back and let you celebrate a false victory. How can we make it up to you?" Steven pondered for a moment. He pulled out his phone and started to unlock it.

"I want a rematch!" Steven declared. "I'm gonna tell Connie what happened and when she gets here I want a serious match. No holding back."

"Alright then." Garnet agreed shocking both Pearl and Amethyst. "I'll do you one better. I say we have a tournament. We'll fight on the beach and the winner gets to make the losers do whatever the winner wants."

"Ok you're on." Steven said excitedly. "But how do we decide who fights who?"

"it'll be a doubles tournament." Garnet explained. "You and Connie will fight Pearl and Amethyst and who ever wins fights me."

"Ohh I see." Steven said caressing his imaginary beard. "Because your Ruby and Sapphire."

"Exactly." Garnet smiled fully.

"Okay! You've got yourself a deal." Steven said shaking hands with Garnet. "I'm gonna go call Connie to see when she can come over." Steven left the kitchen and plopped down on the couch. He held his phone up to his ear waiting for Connie to pick up.

"Garnet what are you thinking?!" Pearl exclaimed in a muffled whisper. "We can't use our full power against them they're children!"

"Yeah man." Amethyst agreed quietly. "They'll no doubt get crushed."

"Probably." Garnet agreed. "But Steven has a point. We can't afford to keep going easy on him no matter how much we love him. I couldn't possibly predict what Homeworld has in store for us so we need to be ready for anything. If that means we have to fight a couple of kids seriously, then that's what we'll do."

"What do you mean 'You already knew'?!" Steven exclaimed into the phone.

"I don't know. I just figured y'know?" Connie answered truthfully. "All the stories you told me about them, there was absolutely no way they were fighting us for real."

"I have seen them do some pretty crazy stuff…." Steven agreed reluctantly. "So you coming over?"

"Yea I'll head over on Lion after school." Connie answered. "I'll probably be over there later on in the afternoon."

"Ok great." Steven smiled. "But are you sure you're cool with an honest rematch? Things will probably get rough."

"Oh definitely." Connie replied. "I'd rather a challenge than a handicap. Besides you can always heal me if i get ruffed up." Her tone was somewhat sexual. Steven blushed lightly.

"Y-yeh sure you bet." Steven said sincerely. They said bye before Steven hung up. He stood up from the couch and went to the bathroom to prepare for the afternoon rolled around quickly. Steven found himself on his porch stretching himself out before the tournament.

"Ok Steven." Steven whispered to himself. "This is for real. Just do your best. Heh, I'm probably worried over nothing. For all I know Connie and I will do great." Steven placed his foot up on the wooden railing and launched himself into the air. He floated over to the shore before gently landing.

He let the water wash the bottoms of his red shoes. He stared into the crystal clear waters. Steven waited in silence for a moment. Steven looked over to the right and saw a pink ball of energy whirl into existence. The sphere morphed itself into an oval and out of the oval, a Connie carrying lion burst forward onto the beach.

Lion's claws dug into the sand and brought them to a gradual stop. Connie, clad in her purple training uniform, hopped off of Lion and onto the sand in front of Steven.

"Hey Steven." Connie greeted sweetly. He was silent. She noticed Steven's intense expression. "Steven? Are you okay?" Steven frantically snapped out of his transe.

"Huh!? Oh hey Connie." He said bashfully rubbing the back of his head. "I guess I've been kinda anxious all day."

"That excited for the fight?" Connie asked.

"More like that nervous." Steven admitted looking over out over the water. "I'm finally gonna know how strong I am. I can't wait, but at the same time…"

"You're afraid you're not a match for them." Connie finished. Steven clenched his fists and focused on the tides that washed up around his shoes.

"It doesn't matter." Steven grumbled inaudibly.

"What?" Connie asked stepping closer to Steven who's head suddenly perked up.

"It doesn't matter how much stronger they are than me!" Steven repeated proudly. "I don't care how hard I have to work! I'll be someone worthy of this gem, and I'll lead the rebellion just like my mom did!" Connie slipped her fingers into Steven's clenched fist.

"And I'll be here with you every step of the way." Connie said with a smile. Steven nodded back confidently.

"Aww you guys are so friggin cute." Amethyst said from behind them. Steven snapped around completely unaware that Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl behind them. They all stood arms crossed except for Pearl who held back tears of joy.

"I guess it's time." Steven said coldly. Garnet nodded. Steven turned to Connie who met his gaze silently. The group dispersed around the beach. Garnet stood on Steven's porch to spectate the first match, while Pearl and Amethyst Stood on the side of the beach closest to the city and cliffside. Steven and Connie stood several meters away from them.

A subtle nod from Connie to Lion told Lion to find something to do during the fight. While Lion wandered off, Steven and Connie split apart. Steven firmly planted his feet in front of Pearl and Connie found herself in front of Amethyst. A moment of silence crept over the beach. A tense atmosphere made itself at home on the beach. Steven's front yard was essentially about to become a passionate chaotic battlefield filled with effort and energy. Connie drew her sword and held it in front her.

Garnet inspected both parties to make sure they were ready. Pearl held her natural stance. She summoned no weapon but her bare-handed stance was intimidating enough. Amethyst on the other hand, stood casually in front of Connie with her arms crossed behind her head and her right leg over her left. Both teams were ready, so Garnet loudly brought two of Steven's pans together. The loud crash signified the start of the match.

That instant, Steven and Pearl rushed forward full speed. Steven leaped forward driving his fist at Pearl full force. Stevens attack was strong but also predictable. Pearl easily avoided the attack by soaring gracefully into air. Steven stopped himself and shot his head up to make sure he didn't lose track of Pearl. She ascended high into the air. At the apex of her jump, Pearl gem glowed brilliantly and she pulled out her trident. The second gravity started to weigh on her she aerodynamically realigned herself to plummet towards the ground. Her landing caused an intense rush on the ground. Individual grains of sand were forcefully blasted everywhere and a thick cloud of smoke stretched out over them. Connie and Amethyst stood on opposite sides of the commotion.

"Steven!?" Connie worriedly called out into fog. Slowly the fog faded revealing Steven and Pearl. Pearl's landing had sent Steven onto his back. Steven struggled to keep Pearl's trident from piercing his chest. His body violently shook under the pressure. He held his shield up against Pearl as best he could, but there was a problem.

"She's so strong!" Steven admitted to himself. "I can't believe she was holding back this much strength during our training session!...I can't give up yet! I'm plenty strong too!" Steven's gem whirled finatically as he expanded his shield over his whole body. He pressed his feet up against the shield, and with all of his limbs up against the shield, he was able to spring Pearl off of him.

Pearl landed a few meters away from Steven and without wasting any time, they both stormed forward once more to exchange blows. Steven had to react fast. Their exchanges were very one sided with pearl getting best of Steven almost every time. However, Steven expected as much.

One clash sent Steven tumbling through the sand and landing on his back. He nimbly flipped back on to his feet pearl flashed forward ramming her spear onto his shield. This clash sent out an undetectable force lifting sand and other grains into the air. The ground around them started to shake as they began to exert more and more effort. Sparks fired off of Steven's shield and shot off into every other direction.

"You know Steven," Pearl started with a hint of satisfaction in her voice. "Even when I'm trying, you're not a bad fight." Steven struggle to speak while shoving his shield up against Pearl's spear.

"Obviously if you have time to speak, You aren't trying your best." Steven vented frustratedly. Pearl smiled confidently before disappearing into thin air. Steven squatted down attentively. Pearls speed was no joke. The entire fight had been an uphill battle, Pearl getting the best of Steven in almost every instance. To win this fight Steven was going to have to fight smarter and harder. Steven scoped the area around him. No sign of Pearl anywhere.

"Sorry Steven." Pearls voiced resonated around him. "There's just no way for you to win this fight. I've been a crystal gem for thousands of years and I know when an opponent is outmatched. So instead of toying around with you I'm going to end this." Pearl then appeared behind Steven spinning furiously. Steven only had a second to react. Pearl swung her foot out and with the speed of her revolutions, her kick sent a bubbled Steven hurtling into the air. Pearl wasn't finished. With her speed and agility, She was able to bounce steven around midair effortlessly. The sound of her foot forcefully thumping against Steven's bubble echoed across the beach. An especially heavy attack sent a bubbled Steven plummeting down to the coast. His impact caused yet another explosion of dirt and water to be sent everywhere.

"Steven!" Connie called out worriedly.

"Come on Connie!" Amethyst sighed starting towards her. "You and I both know Steven and Pearl will be just fine. If you're gonna worry-" Amethyst vanished from in front of Connie. Connie's head swivelled in an attempt to find Amethyst. Besides Pearl and Steven's bout, the beach barely stirred at all. Her body was tense. She held her sword steady in front of her.

"You should worry about yourself." She heard Amethyst whisper in her ear. She leaped away from Amethyst who had somehow easily gotten behind her undetected.

"Can't think about it too much." Connie said to herself. "If I let her get to me I'm done for!" Connie lounged forward thrusting her pink blade at Amethyst. The broad weapon inched closer to Amethyst, the tip almost touching her iris, before she vanished into thin air.

No doubt this sight was a product of Amethyst's formidable speed, so Connie immediately canceled her momentum and skillfully swung the sword behind her. She was well aware of the power difference between them. However, Amethyst could still be fairly predictable in her uninspired moments.

Connie's horizontal backslash definitely mixed up Amethyst, and as a result, Amethyst lost a lock of her hair barely being able to avoid the strike. She expertly flipped away, nimbly landing in a kneeling position. She brushed back a few strands left over her face after Connie's attack.

In a way, Connie kind of did Amethyst a favor. Amethyst had a habit of covering twenty-five percent of her face with her hair. Now with only a strand of hair hanging over her eye, her appearance reflected some of the changes her character had undergone since Jasper was bubbled. Amethyst stood up and started stretching. She pulled her right arm behind her head with her left and then her left with her right. She dropped into a squat and began stretching out her legs.

Finally she stopped stretching and stood a few meters away from Connie who held her sword out in front of her. Amethyst had her arms by her sides. A blank expression painted itself on her face. Connie's obsidian pupils met her gaze. The only hint of emotion on her person was her eyes. Her body was still and motionless, but her eyes were wild purple flames that seemed to say so much about her. In her eyes, Connie could see her pain and insecurities rising to the surface, creating low and menacing presence. Connie let her fear push her back a step. Amethyst noticed this and started to walk forward. Her pace was comfortable and slow which made it even more intimidating.

"I know why you do this." Amethyst said threateningly. "You're desperate aren't you?" Connie hesitated. Her grip on her sword tightened before she charged forward.

"Just ignore her." Connie mumbled to herself as she rushed forward. She unleashed a fury a quick sharp sword slashes. Amethyst, this time completely ready, dodged her effortlessly.

"You want to be the best you right?" Amethyst whispered suddenly appearing behind Connie. Connie responded by swinging herself around full speed in an attempt to cut Amethyst in half. Her sword cut through the air effortlessly but Amethyst got clear of the blade by jumping back at the last second. Connie continued her attack not letting Amethyst out her field of vision. Her pink blade seemed to hum as Connie swung it again and again. She leaped through the air in pursuit of the purple gem. Her steps were light and focused.

After a particularly long scramble, Connie stopped to catch her breath. This entire situation was dire for her. Connie's breath was ragged.

"Your eyes don't lie." Amethyst said condescendingly. "You're fighting the truth you know. You don't want to accept it even when it's staring dead at you."

"What are you…" Connie started ask being cut off by Amethyst.

"You're a crystal gem too Connie!" Amethyst said mockingly of Steven. "You're just one little girl sitting at the grownups table." Her words were like knives in Connies back. Her confidence took the brunt of the blow. Connie staggered angrily before swiping her sword off of the ground and Charging at Amethyst full speed. Her anger pushed her through the fatigue. Finally, she thrusted her blade up aimed at the purple gems throat. Amethyst vanished once again. Connie's eyes panned up to see Amethyst lightly balancing her big toe on the tip of her sword. Connie growled lowly. Could her efforts really be pointless. She knew there was a gap in power, but to be outclassed to this degree was insane.

"Truth Hurts!" Amethyst quipped before sending Connie's sword flying into the cliffside next to Steven's house. Connie's aches brought her down onto her hands and knees. Sweat rolled down the sides of her face and fell to the soft sand from her chin. She may have over done it, but she knew her opponent. She couldn't have possibly fathom the gap in power between them and it was maddening. She couldn't even keep up with Amethyst's nonchalant movements. She had trained intensely with them for months, nearly perfecting what Pearl regarded as "The Art of the Sword". Connie's head hung low to the ground as she fought back tears that welled up in her eyes. She sniffled at her inevitable defeat. Amethyst pulled her up by the low collar on her gi and held her up above the ground.

"Time to face reality." Amethyst said neutrally. "Time to accept yourself for what you really are." Amethyst held Connie above the ground with her left hand and rocked her skull with a forceful right haymaker. Connie screamed out in pain, as the dark red blood from her nose splattered out onto the sand. Amethyst striked again and again. Connie's head jolted violently back and forth in response to Amethyst's attacks. Connie bled profusely. Streams of blood ran freely from her scalp and nose.

"YOU'RE NOTHING!" Amethyst yelled angrily with each passing blow. "YOU CAN TRY ALL YOU WANT BUT YOU CAN FIX THE FACTS! YOUR WEAK AND YOU ALWAYS WILL BE!" Garnet watched from the porch. She shifted her shades farther onto her face. Garnet knew Amethyst's words weren't for Connie . Amethyst let her in feeling loose during Connie's beating. Suddenly, Amethyst stopped pounding Connie's face and let her nearly lifeless body hit the ground.

"It's over." Amethyst said, finally calming down. Connie laid face down in the sand. Her face was battered, bruised, and numb with pain. She was barely conscious, but she heard what Amethyst said. She couldn't let her be right. Amethyst, done with Connie, turned and started walking towards Steven in Pearl who were still locked in combat.

"It isn't over." Amethyst heard a muffled voice call out. She turned to see Connie struggle up to her hands and knees. She struggled to do anything at this point. Still she fought her eventual collapse with all her might. "You are wrong...you're wrong about me." Amethyst walked back to a gravely wounded Connie. Amethyst stood above her waiting for her to stand back up.

"I AM SOMETHING!" Connie shouted forcing herself up onto her feet. That instant, Amethyst's eyes widened as she mercilessly launched Connie high into the air with a devastating kick. Connie's body flew higher and higher. Just as she passed the cliffs edge, Amethyst appear there with a sadistic smile. Her gem hummed as she pulled out her long purple energy whips.

As soon as Connie's momentum started to fade, she felt herself being tightly constricted. Her face was so swollen she could barely open her eyes. She caught a glimpse of Amethyst's devilish grin. Amethyst slung her deadly purple electric currents through the whips. When the currents reached Connie's body, she cried out in bloody agony.

Her body was lit up with purple electricity. It was a wild spectacle from the ground. Almost as if a bolt of purple lighting stopped before it hit the ground and concentrated itself in the air. Amethyst's attack seem to absorb all the light in the area. The only light visible was the purple charge that ate away at Connie's skin and the sparks that flew off of her body. Her screams filled the void of silence.

"I'm sorry kiddo." Amethyst yelled over Connie's screams. "What were you saying?!"

"HnnAAhhh" Connie cried out in pain. Stumbling back, Steven narrowly dodged Pearl's trident. Then, Connie's shrieks filled his ears and he snapped around to catch Connie trapped in a hurricane of purple electricity. His heart skipped a beat.

Completely deserting his battle with Pearl, Steven rushed to the cliff side. His movements were frantic. He couldn't think of a plan. He couldn't think of anything. Next thing he knew he soaring through the air determined to rip Connie out of those deadly ropes. Amethyst, seeing Steven approach, let Connie slip through her whips. Connie's body descended into a free fall. Steven swept her up in his arms and slowly drifted back to the ground.

Steven laid Connie out on the soft sand. He peered down at her battered, broken body. She stirred slightly before a volt of electricity violently shook her body. Steven kneeled down next her and place his lips on her forehead. A hot pink glow lit her body before dimming down. Her bruises were lessened but still there. She groaned quietly as she fell into a more peaceful unconsciousness.

"That should hold you for now." Steven whispered to a layed out Connie. Steven figured the last thing Connie need was another beating, so he only healed her enough to stabilize her as opposed to completely restoring her. Steven stood above her.

He could feel rage boil up inside. He asked for a real match, but all he could see on Connie's face was a senseless beating. He heard Amethyst land behind him.

"Looks like she couldn't take the heat." Amethyst said nonchalantly crossing her arms behind head. "She was so determined to get the crap kicked out her. Kinda funny when you think about it."

"Amethyst…" Steven scornfully spoke. "If I hadn't of shown up when I did she would have died."

"So?" Amethyst replied snobbishly. "You insisted on a real fight so so bad, and when you get one you don't know what to do." Steven's clenched fist began to shake ferociously. He could feel his anger steamily rising out of his pores. Steven's gem whirled as it began to glow brighter and brighter.

"You're right." Steven agreed calmly as her turned to face her. "Let's go a round or two Amethyst."

Amethyst took a second to process what Steven said. She hesitated a bit. His tone was darker than usually and she sensed something else. She sensed something dark. She sensed malice.

"S-sure I've been looking forward to this rematch." Amethyst said dropping into her own fighting stance. She wasn't gonna let Steven win regardless. She heard pearl land behind her. "I've got this P don't butt in!"

"Are you sure you got this?" Pearl asked, storing her trident in her gem, and placing her hands on her hips. Amethyst focus shifted from Steven to Pearl.

"W-what of course I got this!" Amethyst replied uneasily. In that instant, Steven's gem ruptured out a vibrant burst of pink electricity that launched him at Amethyst with incredible speed. Amethyst snapped her focus back to Steven but was blindsided and sent tumbling through the sand by a very forceful punch. A trail of smoke and dust followed her.

Pearl let out a small chuckle before summoning her spear. She took a moment to observe Steven. He stood as tall as he could. His gem lit through his shirt and pink electricity periodically glistered throughout his body. His eyes glowed an angry hot pink. He set his sights on Pearl who readied her spear. Steven started towards her Pearl slowly. His shoes buzzed wildly with every step. The tension continued to build as Steven approached.

Pearl heard Amethyst unoriented groans behind her. Pearl held her trident in front her and squatted down into her fighting stance. She turned to see Amethyst standing beside her whips drawn and ready to fight. They dashed forward with quickening steps. Pearl reached Steven first with her superior speed and swung her spear at Steven who vanished into thin air. Pearl's head swivelled to locate him.

"He's up there!" Pearl heard Amethyst scream before bouncing off of her head and soaring high into the air. There she found steven effortlessly floating above the ground. The electricity crackled around him. Amethyst attempted to attack Steven, but he was already behind her ready to retaliate with a powerful elbow. Amethyst's body found itself buried under sand post impact.

She rushed out of her burial to find Steven holding back Pearl's spear with one hand. She hastily dashed toward them catching Steven's flushed gaze. Two kicks easily sent Pearl crashing into Amethyst with a splintered spear in her grasp.

The gems eased up off of the ground easily. They were shaken by Steven's composure. He was so different. Seemingly out of nowhere the differences in their power were in Steven's favor. His pink power hummed about him. Once again Steven started towards them.

This time his blank expression was replaced by an intimidating grin. He opened and closed his hands allowing the energy sizzle in between his fingers. After getting a few feet within Amethyst and Pearl, Steven dropped down into his fighting stance. Like him, his stance was also different. What used to be a defensive stance protected by his rose pink shield was now a confident yet terrifying offensive position.

His gem began to emit a terrifyingly bright radiance. His aura seemed to absorb all the light in area and as result grew tenfold. The pink light grew more and more. Garnet materialized in front of Steven. She held up her hand.

"Move outa the way Garnet!" Amethyst yelled. "We got this!" Pearl agreed with a nod readying another spear.

"This fight is over." Garnet said stepping to the side of Steven. The pink light emanating from his gem almost instantly died down and was follow by the sound of Steven collapsing face first into the sand. His body shuddered violently with Neo electricity ravaging it.

"W-what just happened?" Pearl asked tiredly dropping her spear. She wiped the sweat from her brow before coming to Garnet's shoulder. Amethyst stood on the other side of Garnet.

"His gem shorted out." Garnet stated, picking Steven up over her shoulder. "What we just witnessed was a fraction of Steven's inner strength."

"Incredible!" Pearl said soft running her hands through Steven's hair. "It makes sense I suppose."

"Yeah, all of off his powers are connected to his emotions." Amethyst agreed. "It makes sense that we'd see this surge in energy after I roughed up Connie."

"Wow you actually said something intelligent?" Pearl said hiding a shady smirk. "That's a first."

"Shaddup P." Amethyst replied slightly annoyed. "So what's the next move Garnet?" Garnet took a second to respond.

"I don't really know." Garnet admitted. "Let's just get the kids inside. They need to rest." The others nodded. The group returned to the house promptly. Steven was gently place on his bed and tucked in. Pearl laid Connie onto the couch and sat next to her.

Garnet came down the creaking wooden stairs and approached Pearl.

"What is it Garnet ?" Pearl asked, her gaze never leaving Connie.

"I'm to take a while to myself so I meditate and map out a plan." Garnet replied heading back to the temple door.

"Umm alright. Did you want me to pop in when Steven and Connie wake up?" Pearl asked, turning towards Garnet.

"I won't be that long." Garnet answered passing through lit corridor. The door whirled shut behind her, leaving a worried Pearl to her exasperated sighs.


End file.
